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State Capitol Building, Room 217 • Oklahoma City, OK 73105 • (405) 521-3191 • www.treasurer.ok.gov
A publication of the Office of the State Treasurer • Treasurer Ken Miller, Ph.D.
Economic Report TM
Volume 2, Issue 3 • March 30, 2012
Oklahoma
News and analysis of Oklahoma’s economy
Inside
• Treasurer’s commentary: SEE IN ACTION PAGE 3
Invisible handcuffs
• Pension reforms taking hold
• Student loan debt grows
• Falling natural gas prices trigger
concern
• State unemployment drops
• February continues revenue
streak
• Economic indicators
Contributors
Regina Birchum, Deputy Treasurer
for Policy
Paul Ackerman, CPA
Maxim Salitra, Treasury Intern
Editor
Tim Allen, Deputy Treasurer for
Communications
One upside of the budget cuts of the
past several years is that agencies have
been forced to find efficiencies and cost-savings.
But just because revenues are
now improving doesn’t mean agencies
should stop looking for ways to perform
better.
Many agencies have found ways to do
more with less, responsibly managing
through budget reductions by realigning
functions to better concentrate on core
services.
Like other agencies that have outsourced
non-core services, the treasurer’s
office has contracted with the attorney
general’s office to provide legal
services instead of employing a staff
attorney; prior
to the mandate,
the treasury
began using the
Office of State
Finance (OSF)
for information
technology
support; and OSF
has been asked to
perform agency
purchasing,
payables and receivables support
starting next fiscal year. The office has
eliminated its fleet vehicles in favor of
using the centralized motor pool.
The outdated perception that an agency’s
worth is measured by its size and
scope is partly to blame for reluctance
to downsize.
Agency
growth can be
constructive if it
results in overall
streamlining
for the state.
However,
growth for the
sake of empire-building
and
mission-creep is
destructive.
At a time when some agencies are trying
Rightsizing in action
“A mission-centric
approach is
emerging that will
reshape government
for the better.”
Personal income in Oklahoma grew
faster than the national average last
year, according to figures released
Wednesday, March 28, by the U.S.
Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Fueled by the energy sector, Oklahoma’s
per capita personal income growth was
third highest in the nation at 5.3 percent,
rising from $35,389 in 2010 to $37,277
in 2011.
Total personal income in Oklahoma was
up 6.2 percent in 2011 at $141 billion,
the fourth-highest change in the nation.
Personal income growth leaps
Nationally, per capita personal income
grew by 4.3 percent and total personal
income was up by 5.1 percent.
In spite of the strong growth in the
past year, Oklahoma’s ranking of per
capita personal income is 34th among
the states at 89 percent of the national
average.
Oklahoma is in a group of energy-rich
states that grew the fastest, along
with North Dakota, Wyoming, Texas,
Louisiana and West Virginia.

State Capitol Building, Room 217 • Oklahoma City, OK 73105 • (405) 521-3191 • www.treasurer.ok.gov
A publication of the Office of the State Treasurer • Treasurer Ken Miller, Ph.D.
Economic Report TM
Volume 2, Issue 3 • March 30, 2012
Oklahoma
News and analysis of Oklahoma’s economy
Inside
• Treasurer’s commentary: SEE IN ACTION PAGE 3
Invisible handcuffs
• Pension reforms taking hold
• Student loan debt grows
• Falling natural gas prices trigger
concern
• State unemployment drops
• February continues revenue
streak
• Economic indicators
Contributors
Regina Birchum, Deputy Treasurer
for Policy
Paul Ackerman, CPA
Maxim Salitra, Treasury Intern
Editor
Tim Allen, Deputy Treasurer for
Communications
One upside of the budget cuts of the
past several years is that agencies have
been forced to find efficiencies and cost-savings.
But just because revenues are
now improving doesn’t mean agencies
should stop looking for ways to perform
better.
Many agencies have found ways to do
more with less, responsibly managing
through budget reductions by realigning
functions to better concentrate on core
services.
Like other agencies that have outsourced
non-core services, the treasurer’s
office has contracted with the attorney
general’s office to provide legal
services instead of employing a staff
attorney; prior
to the mandate,
the treasury
began using the
Office of State
Finance (OSF)
for information
technology
support; and OSF
has been asked to
perform agency
purchasing,
payables and receivables support
starting next fiscal year. The office has
eliminated its fleet vehicles in favor of
using the centralized motor pool.
The outdated perception that an agency’s
worth is measured by its size and
scope is partly to blame for reluctance
to downsize.
Agency
growth can be
constructive if it
results in overall
streamlining
for the state.
However,
growth for the
sake of empire-building
and
mission-creep is
destructive.
At a time when some agencies are trying
Rightsizing in action
“A mission-centric
approach is
emerging that will
reshape government
for the better.”
Personal income in Oklahoma grew
faster than the national average last
year, according to figures released
Wednesday, March 28, by the U.S.
Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Fueled by the energy sector, Oklahoma’s
per capita personal income growth was
third highest in the nation at 5.3 percent,
rising from $35,389 in 2010 to $37,277
in 2011.
Total personal income in Oklahoma was
up 6.2 percent in 2011 at $141 billion,
the fourth-highest change in the nation.
Personal income growth leaps
Nationally, per capita personal income
grew by 4.3 percent and total personal
income was up by 5.1 percent.
In spite of the strong growth in the
past year, Oklahoma’s ranking of per
capita personal income is 34th among
the states at 89 percent of the national
average.
Oklahoma is in a group of energy-rich
states that grew the fastest, along
with North Dakota, Wyoming, Texas,
Louisiana and West Virginia.